Human Smuggling Interdictions in Texas Lead to Apprehension of 76 Migrants near Border

RGV Sector Border Patrol agents find 42 migrants in two human smuggling stash houses. (Pho
File Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Rio Grande Valley Sector

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector disrupted multiple human attempts leading to the apprehension of at least 55 migrants. The interdictions included traffic stops along with stash house raids.

Early Monday morning, agents patrolling U.S. Highway 285 near Falfurrias, Texas, observed the driver of a white Dodge Ram truck picking up multiple migrants as they came out of the brush, according to information obtained from Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials. The area is well-known as a human smuggling pick-up area where the migrants emerge after circumventing the checkpoint on U.S. Highway 281.

The agents attempted to stop the truck but the driver failed to yield and led them on a vehicle pursuit. The pursuit came to an end when the driver veered off the road. Eventually, several migrants bailed out of the truck and fled into the brush. The agents conducted a search of the area and took four migrants into custody. The agents identified the migrants as citizens of Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The driver managed to avoid arrest.

Rio Grande Valley Sector agents teamed up with Starr County Sheriff’s Office deputies later that evening to execute a warrant on a suspected human smuggling stash house in Roma, Texas. As the agents entered the apartment they found seven migrants illegally present in the United States. The agents arrested the migrants, including an unaccompanied child, and the caretaker of the stash house — a U.S. citizen. Agents reported the migrants as citizens of El Salvador, Mexico, and Romania.

A few days earlier, Brooks County Sheriff’s Office deputies requested assistance from Border Patrol agents as they pursued a fleeing suspected human smuggler near Falfurrias, Texas. The driver of a white Ford F-150 drove through a rancher’s fence before coming to a stop. Multiple migrants bailed out and fled into the brush. A helicopter crew joined in the search and assisted in the apprehension of 14 migrants.

That evening, agents raided another human smuggling stash house operation near Edinburg, Texas. The agents teamed up with federal and local law enforcement teams to enter the house where they found 21 migrants. The agents identified the migrants as citizens of El Salvador and Honduras.

McAllen Station agents also arrested another 30 migrants at another Edinburg-area stash house.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.

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